Men to Trust. Diana Palmer

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      She felt all at sea, confused and uncertain.

      He stared down into her wide eyes. She looked miserable and he felt confused. “Forget it,” he murmured, dropping his stare to her soft eyes. “I’m just talking. I don’t even know what I’m talking about.”

      “I know about her,” she blurted out.

      He scowled. “Her?”

      “Shannon Culbertson,” she said, averting her gaze to the budding rosebushes. “I’m sorry it happened like that. It must have been devastating for you.”

      He couldn’t think of another single person he wouldn’t have cursed for mentioning her name. But it didn’t feel at all uncomfortable to discuss Shannon with Violet. She had a tender heart. He ached for comfort. He’d never had it.

      “She was beautiful,” he replied. “Young and full of fun and promise. I loved her until she was an obsession. I didn’t think I could go on living when she died.”

      “But you did,” she replied. “You’re stronger than you realize.”

      “You have an odd effect on me,” he murmured.

      “What sort?” she asked, studying him.

      One shoulder lifted and fell. His eyes went back to the landscape as he rocked the swing lazily into motion. “I don’t talk about her. I haven’t in years.”

      She sighed and rested her head on his shoulder, staring across his broad chest toward the distant highway. “You can’t bury the past,” she said absently. “It affects everything we do, everything we are.”

      He frowned. “Did you lose someone?”

      She laughed. “Me? When I was in high school, I weighed even more than I do now. My parents sent me to a private school because they thought I might not get picked on as much. But I did. There are always the beautiful people who feel privileged to comment on the less fortunate. I hated school.”

      “I thought schools were cracking down on bullies.”

      “If they crack down very hard, they tend to get sued,” she pointed out, with a speaking look in his direction.

      He chuckled. “I don’t take frivolous lawsuits,” he reminded her.

      “Plenty of other lawyers do. Then they get huge awards, which they keep the lion’s share of. Then insurance, and everything else goes sky high.”

      He scowled. “Well, you have got a point.”

      “I make up in intelligence for what I lack in looks,” she murmured.

      He tilted her face up to his and searched her blue, blue eyes. “Violet,” he said softly, “there’s nothing wrong with the way you look. I had a bad morning and I took it out on you that day. I’ve been trying to find a way to apologize every since. You look like a woman should.”

      She studied him with big, curious eyes. He was very handsome. She was fascinated by the way he was looking at her, as if he really did find her enchanting. She smiled slowly.

      “Ahh,” he cautioned in a husky tone. “Looking at me like that will get you into trouble.”

      “It will?” she asked hopefully.

      The humor went right by him. His eyes had dropped to her full, soft mouth and he was feeling a surge of hunger. Some tiny voice was urging caution. He ignored it and pulled Violet closer. His hard mouth curved down against her soft one, teasing lightly until she relaxed and leaned against his chest. His long fingers slid into her thick, soft hair, and tugged her head farther back on his broad shoulder.

      His fingers were at her nape, teasing, tracing, while his mouth slowly penetrated the tight line of her lips.

      She stiffened, but he persisted. When she still wouldn’t give him what he wanted, his lean hand slid right over her full breast and contracted gently with the nipple trapped between his thumb and his hand. She gasped and shivered, giving him access to the dark inner softness of her mouth. She felt his tongue slide sensuously inside and a curious swelling sensation overtook her body.

      His hand became insistent on her breast, searching for buttons. He made an opening and his fingers slid inside it, right onto the warm silkiness of her bare skin. She moaned huskily. Her arms reached up and enclosed his neck while she gave in to the unreality of being in his arms, being desired by him.

      The kiss became passionate, demanding. She moaned again. Vaguely, she felt him pulling her up. He bent and lifted her, his mouth still enclosing her yielded, hungry lips. He carried her into the house, kicking the door shut behind him.

      He started toward the bedroom, but his body was in agony. Too many years of abstinence had left him powerless with Violet’s mouth promising heaven. He made it to the living room and slid her onto the sofa, but there wasn’t really room for both of them on it. She was as hungry as he was, and their restless movements landed them on the carpet between the sofa and the coffee table.

      He started to lift his head, but she pulled his mouth back over hers. The sensations were like waves of pleasure that rocked her in his hard arms, and she didn’t want them to stop. She didn’t want him to stop. She’d never felt such physical delight in all her life, and she wasn’t willing to give it up just yet.

      Blake was feeling something similar. It had been a long time since he’d had such a willing, hungry partner. Even Shannon, although she loved him, had been receptive but not eager when he made love to her. Violet was different. She tasted of honey. He loved the feel of her mouth under his. He loved the feverish response of her body to his lightest touch. He loved the soft little noises she made, the tiny gasps that pulsed rhythmically out of her throat as his caresses became quickly more intimate.

      She felt cool air on her breasts and opened her eyes just a breath. Her clothes were open all the way down the front, and her bra was unhooked. His eyes were a darkened, passionate blue as they caressed her bare breasts, feeding on their ample curves and the taut mauve rise of her nipples. He bent, his mouth opening as he eased down beside her again and took her into his mouth.

      She arched completely off the floor, sobbing. “Yes,” she choked. “Yes!”

      What little control he’d had left was gone at once. She was as hungry as he was. He didn’t think about afterward. He was too far gone to care about tomorrow. There was only the painful need that stretched his powerful body like rope over her rippling, soft body. Years of abstinence took control of his will.

      His hands were deft and efficient. Within seconds, the barriers were all gone, and his mouth was moving hungrily over Violet’s soft belly, down to the inside of her thighs.

      While he kissed her, he touched her, in ways and places she’d only read about. She hadn’t dreamed that the sensations would be so overwhelming. When the first ripples of ecstasy worked their way down her aching body, she was far beyond any sort of protest. She loved him. He wanted her. She was becoming a woman, truly a woman, for the first time. She wanted nothing more than to go on being kissed and touched and caressed to madness in his arms.

      Somehow, it never occurred to her that the first time might be uncomfortable; or that he might not know it was her first time. Most women were СКАЧАТЬ